Ligeti: Keyboard Works
View all works by Ligeti in the main appExplore the complete catalog of Keyboard compositions by Ligeti. This curated list includes composition years, historical Wikipedia context, and interactive audio to add specific tracks directly to your listening queue.
| Title | Year | Actions |
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| 3 Bagatelles |
Three Bagatelles, for David Tudor, better known by its original French title Trois bagatelles, is a 1961 solo piano composition by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The composition is well known for its tacet sections. It is dedicated to pianist David Tudor. |
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| 3 Lakodalmi tánc, for piano-4 hands |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| 3 Piece for 2 pianos: Monument, Selbstporträt and Bewegung |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| 4 Early Pieces for piano, "Basso Ostinato" |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| 6 Etudes, Book 1 |
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti composed a cycle of 18 études for solo piano between 1985 and 2001. They are considered one of the major creative achievements of his last decades, and one of the most significant sets of piano studies of the 20th century, combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content, following in the line of the études of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Alexander Scriabin but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Pianist Jeremy Denk wrote that they "are a crowning achievement of his career and of the piano literature; though still new, they are already classics.". |
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| 8 Etudes, Book 2 |
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti composed a cycle of 18 études for solo piano between 1985 and 2001. They are considered one of the major creative achievements of his last decades, and one of the most significant sets of piano studies of the 20th century, combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content, following in the line of the études of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Alexander Scriabin but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Pianist Jeremy Denk wrote that they "are a crowning achievement of his career and of the piano literature; though still new, they are already classics.". |
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| Allegro, for piano 4-hands |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Capriccio no. 1 |
Due capricci is a set of two capricci for piano written by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. Both of the capricci were finished in 1947. |
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| Capriccio no. 2 |
A capriccio or caprice (sometimes plural: caprices, capri or, in Italian, capricci), is a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character. The typical capriccio is one that is fast, intense, and often virtuosic in nature. The term has been applied in disparate ways, covering works using many different procedures and forms, as well as a wide variety of vocal and instrumental forces. The earliest occurrence of the term was in 1561 by Jacquet de Berchem and applied to a set of madrigals. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, it could refer to madrigals, music intended alternatively for voices or instruments, or strictly instrumental pieces, especially keyboard compositions. |
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| Chromatische Phantasie |
Chromatische Phantasie (German: Chromatic Fantasy) is an early piano composition by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. It is one of Ligeti's juvenile compositions withdrawn by the composer. |
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| Continuum |
Continuum for harpsichord is a musical composition by György Ligeti composed in 1968, and dedicated to the contemporary harpsichordist, Antoinette Vischer. The composer describes the conception and result of its technique: I thought to myself, what about composing a piece that would be a paradoxically continuous sound, something like Atmosphères, but that would have to consist of innumerable thin slices of salami? A harpsichord has an easy touch; it can be played very fast, almost fast enough to reach the level of continuum, but not quite (it takes about eighteen separate sounds per second to reach the threshold where you can no longer make out individual notes and the limit set by the mechanism of the harpsichord is about fifteen to sixteen notes a second). As the string is plucked by the plectrum, apart from the tone you also hear quite a loud noise. The entire process is a series of sound impulses in rapid succession which create the impression of continuous sound. Amy Bauer (2004, p. 130) describes the piece as trompe-l'œil, creating "a sense of stasis through extremely rapid activity." She compares it to a patient's description of the schizophrenic experience of, "an intense cerebral activity in which inner experiences took place at greatly increased speed, so that much more than usual happened per minute of external time. The result was to give an effect of slow motion." (Sass 1992) This piece has also been arranged for barrel organ and for two player pianos by the composer. The piece has also been compared by classical music reviewers to the magnetic fluctuations of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as detected by the space probe Philae after the fluctuations were artistically sonificated by a German composer and sound designer to make them audible. Ligeti also wrote two subsequent works for solo harpsichord: Passacaglia ungherese (1978) and Hungarian Rock (Chaconne) (1978). |
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| Etude 14a, for player piano, "Coloana färä stârsit" | ||
| Etudes, Book 3 |
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti composed a cycle of 18 études for solo piano between 1985 and 2001. They are considered one of the major creative achievements of his last decades, and one of the most significant sets of piano studies of the 20th century, combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content, following in the line of the études of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Alexander Scriabin but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Pianist Jeremy Denk wrote that they "are a crowning achievement of his career and of the piano literature; though still new, they are already classics.". |
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| Hungarian Rock |
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest, and Austria to the west. Hungary lies within the drainage basin of the Danube River and is dominated by great lowland plains. It has a population of 9.6 million, consisting mostly of ethnic Hungarians (Magyars) and a significant Romani minority. Hungarian is the official language, and among the few in Europe outside the Indo-European family. Budapest is the country's capital and its largest city, and the dominant cultural and economic centre. Prior to the foundation of the Hungarian state, various peoples settled in the territory of present-day Hungary, including the Celts, Romans, Huns, Germanic peoples, Avars and Slavs. Hungarian statehood is traced to the Principality of Hungary, which was established in the late ninth century by Álmos and his son Árpád through the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. King Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000 and converted his realm to a Christian kingdom. The medieval Kingdom of Hungary was a European power, reaching its height in the Late Middle Ages. After a long period of Ottoman wars, Hungary's forces were defeated at the Battle of Mohács in 1526 and its capital Buda was captured in 1541, opening a period of more than 150 years where the country was divided into three parts: Royal Hungary (loyal to the Habsburgs), Ottoman Hungary and the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania. The Ottomans recognised the loss of Ottoman Hungary by the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Most of Hungary was reunited and came under Habsburg rule by the turn of the 18th century. Wars of independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 and 1848–1849 resulted in a compromise that established the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1867, a major power in the early 20th century. Austria-Hungary collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon in 1920 established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its historical territory, majority of its economy, 58% of its population, and 32% of its ethnic Hungarians. Reeling from the aftermath of the war, Hungary endured turmoil in the early interwar period, culminating in the nationalist conservative regime of Regent ruler Miklós Horthy. Hungary joined the Axis powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. It was occupied by the Soviet Union, which established the Hungarian People's Republic as a satellite state. Following the failed 1956 revolution, Hungary became comparatively freer but remained a repressed member of the Eastern Bloc. As part of the Revolutions of 1989, Hungary peacefully transitioned into a democratic parliamentary republic. It joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and the Schengen Area in 2007. Hungary is a high-income economy with universal health care and tuition-free secondary education. It has a long history of significant contributions to arts, music, literature, sports, and science and technology. As a popular tourist destination in Europe, Hungary had 24.5 million international visitors in 2019. Hungary is a member of numerous international organisations, including the Council of Europe, EU, NATO, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Visegrád Group. |
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| Induló, for piano 4-hands |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Invention |
Invention is an early composition by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. It is scored for solo piano and was composed in 1948. |
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| Musica ricercata, 11 pieces |
György Sándor Ligeti (; Hungarian: [ˈliɡɛti ˈɟørɟ ˈʃaːndor]; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" and "one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time". Born in Romania, he lived in the Hungarian People's Republic before emigrating to Austria in 1956. He became an Austrian citizen in 1968. In 1973 he became professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where he worked until retiring in 1989. His students included Hans Abrahamsen, Unsuk Chin and Michael Daugherty. He died in Vienna in 2006. Restricted in his musical style by the authorities of Communist Hungary, only when he reached the West in 1956 could Ligeti fully realise his passion for avant-garde music and develop new compositional techniques. After experimenting with electronic music in Cologne, Germany, his breakthrough came with orchestral works such as Atmosphères, for which he used a technique he later dubbed micropolyphony. After writing his "anti-anti-opera" Le Grand Macabre, Ligeti shifted away from chromaticism and towards polyrhythm for his later works. He is best known by the public through the use of his music in film soundtracks. Although he did not directly compose any film scores, excerpts of pieces composed by him were taken and adapted for film use. The sound design of Stanley Kubrick's films, particularly the music of 2001: A Space Odyssey, drew from Ligeti's work. |
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| Passacaglia Ungherese |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Polifón etüd, for piano 4-hands |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Ricercare: Omaggio a Frescobaldi |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Sonatina, for piano 4-hands |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Study no. 1: Harmonies |
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti published three string quartets: two string quartets proper (1953–54, 1968) and a student piece from 1950 published toward the end of his life. The first two quartets represent his early period, inspired by Béla Bartók, and middle period, which was largely micropolyphonic. In 2012, sketches and notes for his projected String Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 were discovered by Bianca Ţiplea Temeș at the Paul Sacher Stiftung, and represent Ligeti's late period. |
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| Study no. 2: Coulée |
This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Source: |
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| Volumina |
György Sándor Ligeti (; Hungarian: [ˈliɡɛti ˈɟørɟ ˈʃaːndor]; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" and "one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time". Born in Romania, he lived in the Hungarian People's Republic before emigrating to Austria in 1956. He became an Austrian citizen in 1968. In 1973 he became professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where he worked until retiring in 1989. His students included Hans Abrahamsen, Unsuk Chin and Michael Daugherty. He died in Vienna in 2006. Restricted in his musical style by the authorities of Communist Hungary, only when he reached the West in 1956 could Ligeti fully realise his passion for avant-garde music and develop new compositional techniques. After experimenting with electronic music in Cologne, Germany, his breakthrough came with orchestral works such as Atmosphères, for which he used a technique he later dubbed micropolyphony. After writing his "anti-anti-opera" Le Grand Macabre, Ligeti shifted away from chromaticism and towards polyrhythm for his later works. He is best known by the public through the use of his music in film soundtracks. Although he did not directly compose any film scores, excerpts of pieces composed by him were taken and adapted for film use. The sound design of Stanley Kubrick's films, particularly the music of 2001: A Space Odyssey, drew from Ligeti's work. |